NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Fitch Ratings has assigned an 'A+' rating to approximately $483 million
of senior-lien airport general revenue bonds series 2012A and 2012B
(Non-AMT) as well as series 2012C (AMT) and 2012D (taxable) issued by
the City of Atlanta on behalf of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta
International Airport (ATL). Fitch also affirms ATL's outstanding $1.53
billion general revenue bonds at 'A+' as well as the outstanding $955.3
million passenger facility charge (PFC) and subordinate lien revenue
bonds at 'A'. The Rating Outlook for all bonds is Stable.

Proceeds of the proposed series 2012A-D bonds will be used to fund
capital improvements at the airport and to retire $314 million of
outstanding commercial paper notes.

KEY RATING DRIVERS:

--STRONG TRAFFIC BASE AND KEY DELTA HUB: Atlanta maintains an
established status as the busiest operating airport in the world with
over 46 million enplaned passengers. There is carrier concentration with
Delta representing 78% of passenger traffic. However, Atlanta is the
primary hub and corporate headquarters location for 2nd largest U.S.
based air carrier, Delta Air Lines (IDR 'B-'; Rating Outlook Positive by
Fitch). ATL is anchored by a large, local traffic base with 15 million
O&D enplaned passengers for FY2011. Passenger traffic trends demonstrate
solid resiliency relative to most other large-hub airports and limited
competition exists from other regional airports.

--EFFECTIVE COST RECOVERY FRAMEWORK AND STRONG NON-AIRLINE REVENUE
SUPPORT: The airport operates with continued airline support evidenced
by extension of the use agreements that provide compensatory rate
setting. Atlanta's large traffic base generates significant PFC and
non-airline revenues enabling airline costs per enplaned passenger to be
among the lowest for a major U.S. hub and international gateway.

--WELL MANAGED CAPITAL SPENDING: Atlanta maintains significant airside
and terminal infrastructure to support a major hub. City and carrier
support for capital spending is evident. Following the series 2012 bond
issue, no borrowings are anticipated over the next five years.

WHAT COULD TRIGGER A RATING ACTION:

--Material changes to current traffic levels;

--Additional leverage to meet the needs of the capital program;

--Changes to the existing favorable airline cost and financial profile.

SECURITY:

The airport general revenue bonds are secured by a first lien on airport
net revenues. A senior lien on passenger facility charge (PFC) revenue
and a subordinate lien on general revenues of the airport secure the PFC
hybrid debt.

TRANSACTION SUMMARY:

ATL represents a major airport facility for the U.S. air transportation
network, with significant direct air service to many U.S. and global
destinations. With approximately 46.2 million enplanements and nearly
937,000 annual aircraft operations, ATL has been consistently ranked the
most active airport in the world. While the airport is served by more
than 30 passenger carriers, including scheduled domestic carriers and
five foreign flag airlines, there is a high degree of service dependency
from Delta Air Lines. Delta and its affiliates accounted for about 78%
of the airport's total enplanements in fiscal 2011, a relatively
unchanged level in recent years even though the carrier has reduced its
presence at secondary hubs.

The next largest carrier, Southwest/AirTran, serves a smaller but still
relevant 15% of airport traffic. Southwest has completed its acquisition
of AirTran during the past year and has recently begun to serve ATL
under its carrier brand. Both carriers currently rely on ATL as its
primary base of service and connecting operations. Overall, connection
traffic contributes to about 68% of total traffic and could lead to
volatility in ATL's future business performance.

Despite the ongoing challenges in both the general economy and aviation
industry, ATL's traffic levels have remained resilient. Recent
enplanement figures over the past two years have been trending in a
modest positive direction. Fiscal 2011 indicated a 1.8% improvement in
traffic growth while the first six months of the current fiscal year is
showing a more modest 0.6% growth in traffic when compared to the same
period in fiscal 2011.

Going forward, Fitch believes that there are effective catalysts for
additional growth opportunities with the combination of service by
Southwest under its own brand coupled with the upcoming completion of
the new international terminal. Management has indicated Southwest's
potential growth for the Atlanta market can be material as, before the
acquisition, there were 40 cities served by Southwest that were not
served by AirTran. Still, Fitch views there to be general credit risk to
due Delta's significant hubbing. While modest service reductions are not
expected to impact the airport's credit, any material de-hubbing
conditions would be a credit event.

Atlanta is currently progressing successfully through a multi-year
capital program. A major component of the costs has been geared towards
the new Maynard H. Jackson International Terminal and this project is
expected to be completed by May 2012. The project will enhance
international service capacity at the airport. Currently, Atlanta offers
the sixth largest international traffic base for a U.S. airport with
over 4.9 million enplanements. Growth of international passengers has
been significantly higher than those for domestic in recent years.
Following the issuance of the series 2012 bonds, the airport expects
little future borrowings for the funding of the capital program. Other
sources such as PFC pay-go collection, federal grants, and other airport
funds are adequate to meet capital spending under the current plan.

The combined debt level (general revenue plus PFC hybrid) represents a
modest $56 per enplaned passenger. Based on the aggregate debt of the
airport, the leverage in terms of net debt to cashflow available to debt
service at 5 times (x) is considered modest for a large-hub airport.

ATL is supported by a well positioned financial profile that include
solid overall debt coverage levels of its general revenue bonds 2.3x and
substantial unrestricted cash reserves of $421 million in fiscal 2011.
Airline costs per enplanement (CPE) are also modest for a large-hub
airport at $2.82, and are projected to be slightly lower at $2.72 in
fiscal 2012. Based on forecasts that contain reasonable growth
assumptions, Fitch believes that coverage levels can remain healthy but
will likely decline moderately to the 1.50x level. CPE levels are also
expected to rise modestly to the $4.00 level. Separate from these direct
costs that carrier pay to the airport, the all-in CPE is $1.70 above
this base rate as it includes additional outside operator payments.

The hybrid PFC bonds have a history of self-support from the PFC
collections. Fiscal 2011 coverage from PFCs was nearly 4.5x and is
expected to remain over 2.0x of future maximum annual debt service based
on forecasted traffic levels. There is still some risk to the PFC credit
as coverage of the hybrid PFC bonds from PFC collections is to a small
extent dependent on the receipts derived from connecting traffic. Still,
a subordinate lien on airport general revenues provides adequate risk
mitigation. At current traffic levels, the airport collected PFC
receipts in excess of $175 million annually. ATL's ability to maintain
sound financial metrics as indicated in its current projections will be
a key driver for the rating maintenance.

Additional information is available at 'www.fitchratings.com'.
The ratings above were solicited by, or on behalf of, the issuer, and
therefore, Fitch has been compensated for the provision of the ratings.

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